is in a sense the forerunner of Peutinger and Pirkheimer. But while
his influence penetrated into every part of the Empire as a stimulating
force, Vienna was the scene of his longest and most definite labours,
and hence all mention of him has been postponed till now. Born in
1459, in humble circumstances, Celtes devoted himself from youth to the
pursuit of learning, studying the {101} Roman classics in the leading
universities of Germany. Without any settled abode, he wandered from
one university to another, associating with scholars and supporting
himself by lectures on the philosophy of Plato, the rhetoric of Cicero,
or the poetry of Horace. In 1486 he visited Italy and made the
acquaintance of all the famous Humanists of the age. On his return,
the publication of his first treatise, the _Ars Versificandi_, brought
him to the notice of Frederick III., by whom he was crowned as poet at
the Diet of Nuremberg (1487). During the next four years he visited
Cracow, Prague, Buda, Heidelberg and Mainz, and again settled down at
Nuremberg in 1491. Here he published a life of St. Sebald, patron of
the city, in sapphics, and a treatise upon the origin and customs of
Nuremberg itself. But within a year he was summoned to Ingolstadt as
Professor of Poetry and Rhetoric, and here he was residing when
Maximilian's letter reached him. The Emperor's appeal was not in vain,
and Celtes took up his permanent abode in Vienna University in 1497, as
professor of the same subjects as at Ingolstadt. His opening lectures,
which treated the philosophy of Plato in connexion with the
Neo-Platonism of the Italian scholars, were regarded with suspicion and
dislike by many members of the University; but his position was
strengthened by the hearty support of Maximilian, who in 1501 appointed
Cuspinian, the intimate friend of Celtes, to the post of
Superintendent. Celtes, and with him the Emperor, was convinced that
new methods of instruction were necessary, if Humanism was to triumph
over Scholasticism. "A new institute was required, which should serve
for the preparation and {102} training of Humanism, a sort of seminary
of Humanist scholars, not outside, but _inside_, the University."[127]
These views led, in October 1501, to the foundation of the "Collegium
Poetarum et Mathematicorum" by Maximilian. Planned by Celtes with the
active approval of Cuspinian, the College in no way formed a fifth
Faculty, though it was directly connected with the Faculty of Arts. Of
its two divisions, the first was devoted to the study of mathematics,
physics and astronomy, the second to that of poetry and rhetoric. The
right of the coronation of poets, which had hitherto lain with the
Emperor alone, was now vested by Maximilian in Celtes, as director of
his own creation. The most distinguished scholars were to receive the
crown of laurel, as a mark of high distinction and as an incentive to
further efforts. But this privilege was exercised by Celtes for the
first and last time, when in 1502 he crowned Stabius, his former
colleague at Ingolstadt, and now Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy
at Vienna. All subsequent coronations of poets were by Maximilian
himself;[128] and the College of Poets fell into disuse after the death
of Celtes in 1508. Even had worthy successors to Celtes and Stabius
been found, it is doubtful whether the College would have had a
permanent existence. Its hybrid position, as an independent
institution and yet an integral part of the University, was a source of
endless bickerings and quarrels, which can scarcely have been a
recommendation to foreign scholars. Celtes' other peculiar
institution, {103} the "Literary Society of the Danube," which he had
originally founded at Buda, and which transplanted itself to Vienna
when he settled there, was a kind of academy or free union of scholars
for the spread of Humanism. Its members were recruited from almost
every nation, and were only held together by the personal influence of
Celtes; on his death it shared the same fate as the College of Poets.
[Illustration: CONRAD CELTES.]
An interesting development of such Humanist unions formed itself in the
mind of Aldus Manutius, the famous Venetian printer. He longed for the
establishment of an academy which should devote itself to the
perfecting of printing and to the spread of the Greek language, and he
entertained the further hope of converting it into an educational
institute, which should form a point of scientific intercourse between
Germany and Italy, under the direct initiative of the Emperor. But
though he approached Maximilian on the subject, he obtained nothing but
vague promises of assistance, whose fulfilment was thwarted by the
Emperor's lack of resources.
Besides his general services to Humanism, Celtes earned the gratitude
of Maximilian by his attention to historical studies. His sketch of
Nuremberg contains a valuable description of its buildings and its
trades, its climate and its inhabitants. His eager investigations
resulted in the discovery of the comedies of the Saxon nun Hroswith,
whose lax morality has been adduced as a proof of their fictitious
character, and the works of Ligurinus, upon which he and his friends
lectured at Vienna.[129] At the moment of his death he {104} was
engaged upon important work for Maximilian. His projected history of
the origin of the House of Hapsburg still remained very much in embryo;
but his great work, _Germania Illustrata_, had assumed very real
dimensions and would, if completed, have eclipsed even the famous
_Nuremberg Chronicle_.
The place of Celtes was filled in Maximilian's estimation by Stabius
and Cuspinian. The former, who had been crowned poet in 1502, was
appointed Historiographer by the Emperor in 1508, and was virtually
monopolized for historical research. Even during Maximilian's last
illness Stabius was employed to read aloud volumes of Austrian
history.[130] But his achievements in the field of history are of
trifling value, and are not to be compared to his works on geographical
and mathematical subjects. Cuspinian is much more worthy of
consideration, especially as his relations with Maximilian drew him in
the same direction as Peutinger. Already Rector of Vienna University
in 1500, he was incessantly employed by the Emperor on embassies and in
affairs of politics. In the course of five years he was engaged in no
fewer than twenty-four missions to Hungary, and he took the leading
part in the negotiations of 1507 and 1515, which resulted in the double
marriage between Austria and Bohemia-Hungary, and the close union of
Maximilian with Uladislas (1515). Nothwithstanding his political
activity, he found time for medical and historical pursuits, lectures
and public addresses on Philosophy and Rhetoric, and elaborate
discussions {105} with his Humanist friends. Besides editing several
of the later classical authors,[131] he brought out the _Weltchronik_
of Bishop Otto of Freisingen, and the same writer's _Warlike Deeds of
Frederick Barbarossa_. His own productions include an account of the
Congress of Princes at Vienna in 1515, and a sketch of _The Origin,
Religion and Tyranny of the Turks_, which naturally roused Imperial
interest. All his most important works exhibit traces of his connexion
with Maximilian. His _Commentarii de Romanorum Consulibus_ are
probably the most profound and critical; but his history _De Caesaribus
et Imperatoribus Romanorum_,[132] which employed him between the years
1512 and 1522, undoubtedly possesses the most practical interest, since
it furnishes us with many valuable details of Maximilian's life and
character. His other work, _Austria_, contains a complete history of
the country up till 1519, as well as a geographical and topographical
description of its several provinces. Unhappily it was not published
till 1553, and by that time the maps which were to have been included
had disappeared.
Under Maximilian's auspices, the medical faculty of the University was
improved to an equal extent with the others, and an ordinance was
issued imposing the severest penalties, at the hands of the
magistrates, on all foreign physicians whose incompetence was
discovered. Again, the Emperor's passionate love of music led to a
distinct revival in that noble science. A famous choirmaster of the
day, Heinrich Isaak, who had spent twelve years in the service of
Lorenzo {106} the Magnificent, was induced to settle at Maximilian's
Court, where his labours raised the Imperial Chapel to a high level of
musical excellence. Amongst other really valuable compositions, his
setting to the poem attributed to Maximilian, "Innsbruck, ich muss dich
lassen," is well known at the present day. The Court organist, Paul
Hofheimer, was likewise esteemed the glory of his profession, and was
the forerunner of a school of brilliant organists scattered throughout
Germany.[133]
Though Maximilian knew well how to employ the activity of the scholar
and the artist, and to stimulate the most varied aspirations of his
time, there is one necessary limitation to our praise of his attitude.
The buoyancy of his nature was to some extent due to a trait of
vaingloriousness, which gave a rosy colouring to his own achievements,
and prevented him from seeing himself as others saw him. Moreover,
this airy self-conceit led him to lay by material, which should win
from posterity a more comprehensive admission of his greatness than was
accorded either by the bare facts of his political life or by the
estimate of contemporaries; and thus he naturally emphasized the common
idea of that period--that history was a relation of the warlike and
peaceful exploits of the monarchs of the world. And yet he often rose
above his own limitations. At one time he eagerly entertained the idea
of a great Monumenten-Sammlung, or collection of authorities for
mediaeval German history; while his encouragement of critical inquiry
atoned for the incompleteness of his own conceptions. Still his
literary productions are crowded with passages of fulsome adulation,
which, {107} by reason of over-statement and extravagant diction,
rarely produce the effect intended.
Among these works two stand out prominently; yet even their execution
was entrusted to others, partly no doubt on account of the many
political demands upon Maximilian's time, but also because he did not
himself possess sufficient patience or poetical talent.
_Weisskunig_[134] is a prose romance, much of the material of which was
taken down from Maximilian's dictation by his secretaries, and
re-arranged and compiled by Marx Treitzsauerwein of Innsbruck. It is
divided into three parts, of which the latter is too obvious a mixture
of "Wahrheit und Dichtung" to be of any great value. The earlier
portion describes the life of the old White King (Frederick III.), his
journey to win his bride, his marriage and his coronation, while the
second deals with the youth and education of the young White King,
Maximilian. The description of his endless accomplishments exhibits to
the full the Emperor's love of minute information, as well as the happy
conviction of his own excellence in almost every art and science. His
quaint conversation with his father on the art of Government has
already been referred to (p. 7). Undoubtedly the chief interest and
value of the book, which was only given to the world in 1775, lies in
its illustrations, which show Maximilian engaged in the most varied
pursuits. The charming picture of Mary and Maximilian teaching each
other Flemish and German, the deathbed of Frederick III. with its
simple pathos, the humorous contrast of the young prince and his
instructors in cannon-founding, his serious {108} deportment over his
correspondence--these are but four scenes chosen somewhat at random
from a most fascinating collection.
_Teuerdank_, the other great prose-epic of Maximilian, is rather a
fairy tale than a history, describing, under a highly allegorical form,
the difficulties which opposed themselves to the Burgundian marriage.
A fabulously wealthy King has an only daughter, a miracle of virtue and
beauty, who is to belong to the most gallant and distinguished of her
many suitors. King Romreich dies before a decision has been come to,
but Princess Ehrenreich sees from his will that only Ritter Teuerdank
is worthy of her hand. She summons him and he promptly sets forth to
join her, accompanied by his trusty comrade Erenhold. But he is
continually detained and led astray by the Evil One, who urges him to
follow his natural instincts, and throws every kind of adventure in his
way. Moreover, the envious magnates of Ehrenreich's Court enlist
against him three captains, who endeavour to lure him to destruction.
Fürwittig represents the vain ambition of youth, to give proof of its
strength and skill and glory, merely for its own gratification; Unfalo,
the fascination for the noble youth, which lies in travel and adventure
by sea and land; while Neidelhard personifies the deadliest of unseen
enemies, Jealousy, that foe who leads the young Prince into the most
difficult entanglements. But the gallant Teuerdank comes scathless
through every ordeal, thanks to his innate virtue and to the powerful
genius of Love. But even then his trial is not at an end. At the
request of Ehrenreich, and the exhortation of a heavenly messenger, he
conducts a campaign against the infidels, who consent to become his
{109} vassals. At length he is free to return, covered with glory and
honour, to the Court of Ehrenreich, when the marriage is duly
celebrated. This extravagant romance, which, with all its sentiment,
is inclined to be wooden and tedious, was actually composed by Melchior
Pfinzing, Provost of St. Sebald's, Nuremberg, though Maximilian
directed its whole tone and substance. It also was elaborately
illustrated by Beck, Burgkmair, and others, but its woodcuts are much
inferior in interest and in execution to those of _Weisskunig_. In
1517 the whole work was privately printed upon parchment, but in 1535
it was published to the world in an edition which is famous for its
sumptuous style. The _Ehrenpforte_ and _Triumphzug_, the _Genealogie_
and _Wappenbuch_ lend additional force to the argument that
Maximilian's enthusiasm owed part of its vigour to motives of
self-glorification. The most important of these works have already
been referred to in connexion with the Augsburg artists and with
Dürer.[135] But some mention must here be made of the recently
discovered _Gejaid Buch_, which was written for Maximilian during
1499-1500, by his Master of the Game, Carl von Spaur, and adorned with
rich illuminations, dealing with the Emperor's sport on the mountains
of North Tyrol. This book contains such minute information, that he
could at a glance "ascertain the head of {110} chamois and red deer in
any of the 200 and odd localities described therein," and is full of
hints and suggestions as to the posting of the sportsmen and as to
possible quarters for the night. Often when there was no castle in the
neighbourhood, the Emperor had to content himself with a primitive
log-hut high up on the mountain-slopes. Sometimes, to avoid such rough
lodging for the night, he covered tremendous distances on horseback, to
get back to more frequented valleys; and it was doubtless on such an
occasion as this that he found a beggar dying by the roadside, and,
dismounting, gave him his own flask to drink from, wrapped his own
mantle round him, and then rode hotly to the next town to summon a
priest.[136] Fatigue was well-nigh unknown to him, and he must
sometimes "have started from his headquarters in the middle of the
night, getting back only after some thirty-six hours in the saddle....
Only those acquainted with the very voluminous correspondence of this
keen sportsman can form any idea of the close attention paid by him to
every detail connected with the chase.... In the thick of a bloody war
in the Netherlands we find him writing letters about a young ibex buck
some peasant women in a remote Tyrolese valley were keeping for him, or
promising in an autograph letter a silk dress to each of certain
peasants' wives in an isolated glen, as a reward for preventing their
husbands from poaching this rare game, or giving minute instructions
where a particular couple of hunting hounds were to be kept, and what
was to be done with their puppies."[137] Our {111} astonishment is not
lessened when we learn that Maximilian possessed as many as 1,500
hounds. This brief digression, to which the Emperor's literary works
have inevitably tempted us, is far from inappropriate to any
description of one whose passion for the chase led him to sign himself
"sportsman and Emperor."
Thus, in all their manifold branches, Literature, Art and Science owe
Maximilian a deep debt of gratitude. He worthily led the great onward
movement of his day, devoting himself to its cause with whole-hearted
service. He guided and controlled it up to the very threshold of that
mighty Revolution, in which "a solitary monk" was destined to shake the
world; and on the threshold it was but fitting that he should leave its
direction to others. His little foibles and conceits vanish, in view
of the great fact that he had nobly performed his duty in the march of
time; and it would indeed have been a cruel mockery of fate, had he
been left to see his ideals shattered and falsified, the world of his
conception renovated and transformed, while he himself, too old in
years and too passionate in conviction to remain leader of the van,
dropped backward amid the indistinguishable throng.
Though Maximilian was wholly out of sympathy with the principles which
guided Luther, and would probably have opposed him had he lived, yet it
may {112} be said that indirectly the Reformation owes something to
him. The earlier stages of the German Renaissance were dominated by a
strong theological bias, and it was only gradually that the prevailing
idea was dispelled, that a student or literary man must belong to the
spiritual order. The revival of the study of Greek and Hebrew
strengthened the element of criticism; and with criticism of theology
came criticism of history, and a desire to dispel the mists which had
gathered round the great past of Germany, and to kindle the growing
national spirit by a closer knowledge of the glorious deeds of men's
ancestors. This patriotic movement, which no one did more to foster
and encourage than Maximilian, soon brought the passionate upholders of
Germany into collision with foreign sentiment. The opposition to Italy
and to Rome, which was mainly due to the degradation of the Papacy and
its practice of draining German resources for purely Italian ends, was
regarded with favour by Maximilian, though his policy was possibly
dictated by secular considerations. Wimpheling's attack on Papal
abuses in Germany, written at Maximilian's command, is the most
outspoken defiance of Rome prior to the appearance of Luther. But
while Maximilian possessed that deep national enthusiasm which was one
of the leading inspirations of Luther's career, he had none of the
Reformer's profound criticism and self-depreciation, and was too much a
man of action to take any deep interest in questions of theology.
We cannot pass to a final estimate of Maximilian's character and policy
without some mention of the wonderful monument in the Hofkirche at
Innsbruck. The Church itself was erected in compliance with the {113}
will of Maximilian, but owing to the loss of the original plans, the
whole work was not completed till the year 1583. In the centre of the
nave stands a massive marble sarcophagus, which supports the kneeling
figure of Maximilian, surrounded by the four cardinal virtues. On the
sides of the sarcophagus are twenty-four exquisite marble reliefs,
representing the principal events of the Emperor's life, all but four
of which were executed by Alexander Colins of Mechlin, the architect of
the famous Otto-Heinrichsbau in Heidelberg Castle. Many of the reliefs
are especially interesting for the careful studies of faces; those of
Maximilian's meetings with his daughter Margaret and with Henry VIII.
contain striking portraits of the Emperor. But the unique feature of
this famous memorial is the long line of bronze figures which extend
round the nave, the silent witnesses of the vanished grandeur of the
Holy Roman Empire. All the great rulers of the House of Hapsburg here
watch over what should have held the mortal remains of their gallant
descendant; while the gentle Mary and her children take their places in
the silent pageant. But amid all the throng two figures stand out
conspicuously. Maximilian had wished that the heroes of his early
dreams should share the long vigil over his grave; and the magic power
of Peter Vischer, the great Nuremberg craftsman, has given the touch of
life and genius to the figures of Theodoric and Arthur. Fitting indeed
it was that the personality of the champion of the Table Round should
be made to rise before us. Arthur, the great type of all that was best
and noblest in mediaeval chivalry, and Maximilian, the last worthy
representative of a worn-out order and a subverted code of honour, are
thus indissolubly linked {114} together in our imaginations; and as we
turn away from the empty tomb and its spellbound watchers, we can
realize something of the glamour and romance of the Imperial dreamer's
life.
[96] Quoted, Geiger, _Renaissance und Humanismus_, page 345.
[96a] The only two possible exceptions to this assertion, Joachim of
Brandenburg, who founded the University of Frankfurt-on-Oder, and
Eitelwolf von Stein, who introduced Hutten to the Court of Mainz.
[97] See Geiger, p. 360.
[98] An educational movement was set in motion at Deventer by the
Brethren of the Common Life, headed by Gerhard Groot, and later by
Radewins. The chief of many brilliant pupils were Cardinal Nicholas of
Cusa, Rudolph Agricola, and Alexander Hegius. Among its offshoots was
the School of Schletstadt in Alsace, whence Wimpheling came.
[99] _Defensio theologiae contra turpem libellum Philomusi_.
[100] See letter of Wimpheling to Brant, quoted by Schmidt, _Histoire
Litteraire de l'Alsace_, i., page 31.
[101] Quoted, Geiger, page 364.
[102] See Prof. Ulmann, _Studie über Maximilians I Plan einer deutschen
Kirchenreform in_ 1510--in Briegers Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte,
vol. iii.
[103] Creighton, vi., page 13.
[104] Janssen, i., p. 304. The English translation of Alexander
Barclay, published in 1508, is a favourite with collectors of rare
editions.
[105] "A prince can mak' a belted knight
A marquis, duke an' a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might--
Guid faith, he mauna fa' that."--_Burns_.
Compare also--
"Ferre lo Sole il fango tutto il giorno;
Vile riman, nè il Sol perde calore.
Dice uomo altier, 'Gentil per schiatta torno';
Lui sembro al fango, al Sol gentil valore."--_Guido Guinicelli_.
[106] _Elegiaca exhortatio contra perfldos et sacrilegos
Flamingos_--quoted Schmidt, i., p. 283.
[107] Quoted, Schmidt, i. 261.
[108] _Varia Carmina_.--Brant.
[109] One of the trade routes from Venice and the East was through
Innsbruck direct to Augsburg.
[110] The great houses of Fugger and Welser had connexions throughout
Europe.
[111] 1500, 1510, 1518.
[112] The following list of his visits does not profess to be
complete--1491, 1502, 1504, March 1508, February to May and June to
July 1510, March to April, and May 1513, March 1514, January 1515,
January 1516, January and July 1517, July 1518.
[113] See Theodor Herberger, _Conrad Peutinger in seinem Verhältniss
zum Kaiser Maximilian I_.
[114] _Romanae vetustatis fragmenta in Augusta Vindelicorum et eius
Diocesi_.
[115] His chief publications were: (1) _Historia horarum Canonicarum de
S. Hieronymo_ (1512). (2) _Jornandes, De rebus Gothorum_ (1515). (3)
_Paulus Diaconus forojuliensis, de gestis Langobardorum_ (1515). (4)
_Chronicon Abbatis Urspergensis a Nino Rege Assyriorum magno usque ad
Fridericum II. Rom. Imperatorem_ (1515). (5) New edition of Macrobius,
_De Somno Scipionis_. He also wrote himself--_Sermones convivales de
finibus Germaniae contra Gallos_, and _Germania ex variis scriptoribus
perbrevis explicatio_.
[116] C. Headlam, _Nuremberg_, p. 60.